Powers: Big Brother swiped your cell phone

Published 6:19 pm, Thursday, June 13, 2013

Well, well, well, the cloak-and-dagger revelations just keep on coming. First, wholesale clandestine surveillance of Associated Press reporters, their offices and homes, and even their relatives. Second, a fellow from Fox News is not only tracked and recorded, but labeled in very nasty terms by the Justice Department. And now, we have the general American public tracked, filed, analyzed and labeled ­-- all based on their phone company (which apparently rolled over on command). My venerable cell phone is with Verizon and I am not pleased. Although, finally, vindication for the old lady who rarely turns the dang thing on and even more rarely places a call. Without doubt, my file is very skinny and very boring; but what about all the rest of Verizon's customers out there? Thinking about changing carriers? How much do you want to place on the table that all the other providers have not done exactly the same thing? What is an honest, hard-working, patriotic American to do? I am of an age to vividly recall President Richard M. Nixon's "Enemies List" and the resulting uproar. (The IRS was involved in that mess as well; nothing much changes in Foggy Bottom.) You and I do not belong on an "Enemies List" or included in a blanket surveillance sweep that is both random and dangerous.

As a proud member of a family that has served our country since the Revolutionary War, I am personally insulted and angered by this invasion. Having my ancient cell phone (it cannot even take pictures) under surveillance would be laughable if it was not so disturbing. I can assure you, my ancestors did not fight and die for this. As a military kid, I certainly understand security, special clearances, "eyes-only," "loose lips sink ships" and their need and place in the grand scheme of things; but there is also common sense and balance ­-- both of which seem in short supply here. I also realize computers now allow the government and their hired surrogates to amass, aggregate and analyze mountains of data; that ability, however, does not trump our Constitutional rights and common sense and balance. In whatever manner the Justice Department is construing current law, it needs to be publicly scrutinized and debated; and if that brings no joy, the law itself needs to be rewritten in light of recent revelations to protect honest, hard-working, patriotic Americans who are doing nothing wrong (whether on the phone or off).

Watching members of Congress turn themselves into pretzels trying to explain away previous votes, briefings, and general knowledge of the government's activities whilst struggling to placate their irate constituents, is laughable and nauseating. Attention members, your actions speak louder than words. You all have been caught technically signing off on this whole sleazy mess, and if you plead ignorance, shame on you as you have failed in your most basic obligation, which is to read and understand what you are voting on. Leaping onto the bandwagon of blaming the whistle-blower is not going to cut it either; the ploy is transparent and unbelievable at best. The whole thing smacks of the old conjuror's trick: Watch this hand, not that one. Whatever this individual's motivation turns out to be, the information released to the public (through the foreign press ­-- another can of worms there) is critical for us to know. As citizens, we cannot create change, remedy the situation and the law, if we do not have the basic information. Here is The Rule: Important information is like trapped water; it always, eventually, finds a way out.

Claudia "Dolly" Powers, a Greenwich resident, is a former special education teacher who represented the town's 151st District for eight terms in the state House of Representatives.